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It is human nature that we sometimes do things that are completely frivolous, and would seem to make little sense in a rational way. Many times, these acts are completely and totally motivated in order to keep up appearances. Think about it for a minute; there is absolutely no reasonable justification for buying an uber-expensive mink coat from a functionality standpoint. There are many materials that cost a small fraction of the price that offer as much warmth, far better durability and can be made just as stylish. However, they don’t allow you to know you own a mink coat. If you think this type of thinking and effect doesn’t extend into the computer world, you are dead wrong. I am willing to bet that every single individual reading this overbought at least one component of their system simply for “cool factor”.

Let’s face it, for most users of liquid cooling it is just as much about cool factor than it is about cooling. I will be the first to admit that the added performance of my loop is great, but wasn’t an absolute necessity to replace air. I did it solely because open loop liquid cooling is a great hobby, allows you to add more individuality to your build….and it just looks damned cool. Many of your component choices will be based entirely on cool factor, as there will be little or no performance differences. In this world where cool factor rules supreme there is probably no single piece cooler than the one with the least actual function; the reservoir. Nothing adds to the look of a loop like a really cool res.

With this in mind, the new XSPC Photon 170 and 270 Tube Reservoirs may be the most interesting reservoirs around. XSPC ditches the plastic for the Photon Tube Reservoirs, using crystal clear and stain resistant glass for the tubing and CNC cut aluminum for the ends and bracket. Running straight through the middle of the Photon is a frosted tube with the XSPC logo which also houses a 5mm LED. White LED is included, and XSPC offers a wide variety of other colors along with UV available separately. One end of the Photon is equipped with three G1/4” openings with spacing wide enough to accommodate ¾” OD fittings along with LED insert, while the other has a single G20 fill port with cap. One G1/4” black chrome plug is included. Internally, both ends of the Photon use an anti-turbulence design that keeps air bubbling to an absolute minimum, even under higher pressures. Each XSPC Photon Tube Reservoir is individually pressure tested to assure proper operation out of the box. It is strongly recommended that the end caps are not removed from the unit.